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27/11/15

This is the second year in a row I work at the Mission
Control Center of Houston as a Ground Controller during a Thanksgiving
Holiday. There are a few traditions
celebrated here in MCC that make it all worth it while sacrificing family time
or sleep (for those working the graveyard shift).

Among the traditions, the crew onboard the International
Space Station (ISS) calls down to MCC using the space to ground voice signals
and thank the Flight Controllers for supporting space operations on the
ground. This usually occurs when the
crew is awake, and the Flight Controllers supporting the 2nd shift are the lucky
ones to hear the message from the crew.
However, this does get handed over to the oncoming Flight Controllers
supporting the next shifts (we cover 3 shifts per day, well, at least the
Houston GCs for sure). Hearing messages
of gratitude from the crew is always uplifting and encouraging, the work of the
Flight Controllers is recognized for all that is done on the ground to make
things happen in space.

The public
doesn’t realize besides the Flight Controllers supporting 24/7, there are
engineers and technicians supporting as well.
At least from my console perspective as a Houston GC, we have Johnson TV
and Mission Video supporting all the video operations coming from onboard the
ISS and helping us send the crew video signal to the crew so they are able to watch Football (yes,
the crew stays awake for this) and other TV programs. Support is also provided by other 24/7 Ground
Control consoles, such as the NOC (Network Operations Control), SO (Security
Officer), Support Center, Houston Voice, and Comm Tech (Communications
Technician) who privatizes Family Conferences between the crew and the families
on such a special day.

There are other things that occur on this day in the Flight
Control Room. A good number of Flight
Controllers contribute to our Thanksgiving diets by bringing all kinds of baked
goodies and some side dishes. We all get
a Thanksgiving meal in appreciation for working during this holiday, and best
of all, we all get to watch football together (if you happen to be working the
Orbit 3 shift) along with the crew. A
favorite task on the ground for the Houston GC is to actually change the icon
of the ISS in the world map to a “turkey”.
It is funny seeing a tukey orbit the earth entering day and night
cycles, in a way reminding us how thankful we should be to live on this planet,
and how despite moments of darkness in the world, we should always look forward
to seeing the light again.

The things I am grateful for as a Houston GC are many, among
them: Getting to see my family when I’m
not covering the shift, the family
visiting me during an LOS (Loss of Signal),
the team of Ground Controllers I work with, a supportive management who
personally makes it out here to greet us
and thank us for our work, the Flight Controller Colleagues I get to work with
during a shift realizing we are not forced to be here, but are grateful to have
this awesome job and to serve our Crew Members in Space to make their lives
easier from the ground. After all, we
go home to our families at the end of the shift, a privilege the crew in space
doesn’t have. We are greatful for such
sacrifice on their part in the name of space exploration.